Elongated flexible members such as cables and hoses must often have inner ends fixed in position to connect to electrical or water supplies or the like, and must be repeatedly retreived for storage in a bin or payed out from the bin for use. One example of this is a cable retreiving apparatus used at airports which must retreive a rubber-coverd electrical cable of a diameter of about 11/2 inches and a length of perhaps 100 feet, that is pulled out to airliners to supply power on the ground. The inner end of the cable lies in a storage bin where it is continually connected (through a relay) to a power supply. A wheel near a front opening in the bin moves the cable into and out of the bin.
When the cable has been moved into the bin, it has generally formed multiple largely circular loops. As the cable forms each circular loop, the cable is twisted by 360.degree., and the free end of the cable which is approaching the bin is repeatedly turned to undo the twist. This has the disadvantage that if a workman holds the outer end of the cable off the ground as it is retreived, he must let the cable end repeatedly turn. Also, the twisted cable in the bin places the wires in the cable under stress, which can lead to failure. An even greater problem is that the twisted cable lying in circular loops easily jams, as when one circular loop gets moved under a previously laid-down loop. It can take considerable time and effort to unjam the stored cable. A cable retreiving apparatus which avoided twisting of the cable as it was moved into and stored in a bin, would be of considerable value.